Combined razor holder and honing-stropping means



Jan. 14, 1930. ALLAND 1,743,747

COMBINED RAZOR HOLDER AND HONING STROPPING MEANS Filed June 23,- 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet l M. ALLAND Jan. 14, 1930.

COMBINED RAZOR HOLDER AND HONING STROPPING MEANS Filed June 23, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Jan. 14, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MAURICE ALLAND, OF ATLANTIC CITY, NEW JERSEY Application filed June 23,

The object of the invention is to provide improvements in razor sharpening means, but more particularly to provide such improvements in combination with a suitable receptacle for a so-called safety razor and both spare unused and used blades.

Another object is to provide a sharpener comprising a pair of oppositely rotatable rolls, in combination with a unique means for removably supporting a blade in either upright or inverted position, and said rolls being revolvable by means of an externally positioned crank, the handle of which extends either in operative position freely from said crank, or when inoperative is adapted to be rotated until disengaged from said crank and, after being moved longitudinally into the container casing, is secured there by a continuation of the same rotary motion.

Still another object is to provide combined sharpening rolls, which both hone and strop the same sides of the oppositely extending cutting edges of a blade, each roll comprising a cylindrical member having a stropping surface of leather or the like through a greater portion of its circumferential extent, and

the remainder of said surface being supplied with a honing surface formed of suitable honing material dovetailed in said roll to prevent its disengagement therefrom.

A further object is to rovide a holder for a blade during the act of being sharpened, said holder comprising a bar having a pair of undercut lugs secured thereto, a longitudinally movable stud adapted to extend freely through a central aperture in a blade and to permit manual propulsion of the blade until it engages beneath the undercut regions of said stud, said bar being provided at one end with a ball in oscillatory engagement with a corresponding socket in the casing of the sharpening device, and at the opposite end said bar being provided with an axially movably spring-pressed latch, operative to removably secure said bar in operative position with respect to the sharpening rolls, either in upright or inverted position.

And a still further object is to provide a simple and unique means for longitudinally 50 reciprocating the combined honing and strop- 1927. Serial No. 200,850.

ping rolls as they rotate in engagement with the edges of a blade, together withadditional advantages as hereinafter described.

With these and other objects in view, the invention comprises details of construction, which are illustrated in one embodiment in the accompanying drawings, and which will be readily understood when read in the light of the following description, in which Fig. 1 is a topplan view of the device; Fig. 2 is a central longitudinal vertical section of the same; Fig. 3 is a right end elevation of the same; Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is a section on the line 55 of Fig. 2; Fig. 6 is a top plan View of the blade holder and a blade operatively positioned thereon in upright position ;-*Fig. 7 is a vertical central longitudinal section of the same; Fig. 8 is a vertical section on the line 8-8 of Fig. 7; Fig. 9 is a fragmentary section through the free end of the blade holder looking towards the latch; Fig. 10 is a vertical longitudinal section of the same fragmentary portion of the device; Fig. 11 is a vertical longitudinal section of a fragmentary portion of the device showing the ball and socket mounting of one end of the blade-supporting member; Fig. 12 is a perspective view of the drawer and showing spare blades positioned therein; and Figs. 13 and 14 are enlarged fragmentary sections of portions of the devlce.

Referring to the drawings, there is provided a box-like casing in which the major portion of the device is inclosed, said casing comprising a lid 1, hinged at 2 to a rectangular receptacle composed of a bottom wall 3, side walls 4, end wall 5 and a topwall 6 provi ded with a rectangular opening 7. One end of the top wall 6 is provided with a rectangular aperture 8, communicating with an aperture 9 in the end wall 5. said last-named aperture having a relatively restricted opening directed upwardly and for a purpose hereinafter described. Also depending from the under side of the top wall 6 beneath the aperture 8 therein a three-sided rectangular boxlike or equivalent structure 10 is provided, while at its opposite end portion to the under side of said top wall 6 there is secured a block enlarged hollow box-like compartment 16 entirely inclosed, except in its outermost wall 17 there is provided an aperture 18 through which extends a shank 19, having a flange 20 upon its innermost end and an enlarged finger-engaging latch knob 21 upon its outer free end, said shank 19 being surrounded by a compression spring 22, which extends between the flange 20 and the inner surface of the end wall 17.

The central portion of the bar 13 is provided with an aperture 23 which opens normally downwardly into a recess 24 in the under surface of said bar and opens normally upwardly in an elongated recess 25 in the corresponding normally upper surface of said bar. In the aperture 23 is positioned the shank 26 of a stud which upon its normal upper end is provided with a head 27 extends ing from the inner surface of the recess 25 outwardly therefrom and adapted to be manually engaged by'ones fingers, while to the opposite end of said stud is secured in any suitable manner a plate 28, which is adapted to reciprocate in the under recess 24 in said bar. Also secured to and preferably extending through said bar are a pair of lugs 29, having heads 30 which extend freely above the normally upper surface of the bar and are undercut at 31. Y In the operation of this blade holder, it is supported for instance by the fingers of ones left hand in the dot-and-dash position shown in Fig. 2, and the stud 26 is in its'farthest position towards the latch 21. A razor blade 32 is then adapted to be placed upon the bar 13 with its central aperture 33 surrounding the head 27 of the stud 26, while the oppositely positioned apertures 34 of the blade pass over and surround the respective heads 30, the blade being in the dot-and-dash position shown in Fig. 6. Then, by moving the stud head 27 longitudinally, portions of the blade upon the latch side of the respective a ertures 34 pass into the undercut regions 31 o the corresponding heads 30 of the lugs 29.

In the open end of the casing 36, is

sweated a rectangular flange 35 which extends freely beyond the neighboring portion of the bottom, side, and top walls of said casing and provides a guide 36 for the lid 1. Said casing is also provided with a transversely extending partition 37, having a substantially central aperture 38, through which extends the handle 39 of a razor when this device is not in use, said razor also comprising a head 40 and a removable clamp 41 which normally secures the blade 32 to said head. The opposite end of the handle 39 rests in a cylindrical casing 42 secured to the bottom wall 3, adjacent to the opposite or closed end of said casing. The partition 37 terminates downwardly at 43, where it joins a horizontally extending partition 44 between which and the bottom Wall 3 of said casing there is slidably positioned a suitable drawer 45 shown in Fig. 12 and having a central partition 46 upon the opposite sides of which are spare unused and used blades 47, the outermost end of said drawer being provided with a handle 48 for manually removing the same from its compartment, and said drawer being removably retained in its innermost position by engagement with the shoulder 49 formed by and comprising the innermost lower edge portion of the flange 35.

The means for sharpening a blade comprises a pair of parallel spaced rolls 50 carried upon shafts 51, which are journalled through the end wall 5 and the partition 37 or are rotatably supported thereby in any suitable manner, while the outer cylindrical surface of each roll, which is preferably of leather or similar material, is provided with a suitably shaped, and preferably dovetailed, cutout re ion 52 in which is fixedly secured a section 0 honing stone 53 or material suit able for this purpose. To each of'the shafts 51 there is secured a gear 54, these gears being independent of each other except that they mesh respectively with gears 55 and 56, which in turn mesh with each other and are carried respectively upon studs 57 and 58 which are journalled through the end wall 5 of the casing. Upon the opposite end of the stud 58 and upon the outer side of the wall 5 there is mounted a pinion 59 which meshes with a gear 60, carried by a stud 61, which is secured to and projects outwardly from the said end wall 5.

Secured to the gear. 60 is a crank, 62 through the outer free end portion of which extends a threaded aperture 63. A handle for manually rotating said crank-comprises a shank 64, having one end of its surface threaded at 65 by which the handle is secured to the crank when in operative position, as'shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the movement or gotation of threaded portion 65 of the harfdle through the aperture 63 being limited by a flange 66 carried by the inner end of said handle. The outermost free end of said handle is provided with a preferably knurled knob head 67 of suitable shape and adjacent to which is located a threaded surface 68.

Having in mind that the end wall 5 is'provided with an aperture 69in alignment with said crank handle when in one position in its normal path of rotation, when the apparatus is not in use the handle 64 is rotated so as to disengage the threaded section 65 of the surface of the handle from engagement with the aperture 63 of the crank, after which the handle is moved axially into, and so that it extendsfreely through,the aperture 69 in the casing wall 5. By continuing the direction of rotation of the handle, the threaded portion 68 of the handle surface finally engages the threads of the aperture 63 in the crank with the result that the handle is secured in innermost withdrawn position.

Surrounding the shafts 51 between the gears 54 and the inner surface of the end wall 5 are suitable spiral springs 70 or the like operative to maintain each of the rolls in extreme position towards the partition 37. Said partition itself is provided with pins 71 fixed thereto in alignment with the respective rolls, which latter upon their respective adjacent ends are provided with metal end members having cam surfaces 72, which are maintained in constant engagement with the respective pins 71 by the tension of the springs 70.

Thus with the handle in the extended position shown in Fig. 2 and rotated in the direction of the arrow shown in Fig. 3 and a blade operatively positioned upon the bar 13 as shown in Figs. 6 and 7, the edges of the blade are sharpened by continuous even conmet with the honing surfaces 53 and the stropping surface of the remaining portions of the rolls 51. After the under surfaces of the blade edges have been sharpened as much as desired, the latch 21 is moved outwardly, thereby releasing the bar 13 so that it can be raised into the angular position shown in dotand-dash lines in Fig. 2, whereupon said bar is rotated a half revolution angularly about its longitudinal axis so as to invert the blade and is then lowered again into its operative position and the latch 21 secured as before so that the opposite surfaces of the respect ve blade edges can be sharpened by continuing the rotation of the crank 62 and thereby the rolls 50.

The blade finally sharpened to the desired degree is removed from the bar 13 by releasing the latch raising the bar and manlpulating the stud 26 so as to dlsengage the blade 32 from engagement with the undercut lugs 30. The blade is then removed either for use in the razor or is replaced 1n one of the compartments ofthe drawer shown 1n Fig. 12.

For convenience, there may be incorporated in the uppermost surfaces of the lugs 30 initials or other symbols to indicate the direction in which the stud 26 should be moved in order to force a. blade in or out of engagement with the lugs 30, in the present case one of said lugs being provided with the initial 1, while the other of said lugs bears the initial 0.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A razor sharpener, comprising a frame, a pair of sharpening rolls carried by said frame,means connectingsaid rolls to rotate them in opposite directions, a bar connected by a universal oint at one end to said frame, a latch to normally secure said bar in fixed relation with said frame, and means to removably secure a blade to said bar, said bar upon releasing said latch being movable angularly and invertible so as to invert a blade secured thereto, and after returning said bar to its normal position, said latch being operative to secure said bar and the blade in an inverted operative position and in cooperation with said rolls.

2. A razor sharpener, comprising a frame, a pair of sharpening rolls carried by said frame, means connecting said rolls to rotate them in opposite directions, means carried by said frame and cooperating with said rolls to axially reciprocate said rolls while being rotated, a bar connected by a universal joint at one end to said frame, a latch to normally secure said bar in fixed relation with said frame, and means to removably secure a blade to said bar, said bar upon releasing said latch being movable angularly and invertible so as to invert a blade secured thereto, and after returning said bar to its normal position, said latch being operative to secure said bar and the blade in an inverted operative position and in cooperation with said rolls.

3. A razor sharpener, comprising a frame having an aperture, a pair of sharpening rolls carried by said frame, means connecting said rolls to rotate them in opposite'directions, a bar connected by a universal joint at one end to said frame, a latch to normally secure said bar in fixed relation with said frame, means to removably secure a blade to said bar, said bar upon releasing said latch being movable angularly and invertible so as to invert a blade secured thereto, and after returning said bar to its normal position, said latch being operative to secure said bar and the blade in an inverted operative position and in cooperation with said rolls, and means for rotatlng said rolls having a relatively movable handle adapted to enter said frame aperture when not in use to prevent the rotation of said rolls.

4. A razor sharpener, comprising a frame having an aperture, a pair of sharpening rolls carried by said frame, means connecting said rolls to rotate them in opposite directions, means carried by said frame and cooperating with said rolls to axially reciprocate said rolls while being rotated, a bar connected by a universal joint at one end to said frame, a latch to normally secure said bar in fixed relation with said frame, means to removably secure a blade to said bar, said bar upon releasing said latch being movable angularly and invertible so as to invert a blade secured thereto, and after returning said bar to its normal position, said latch being operative to 5 secure said bar and the blade in an inverted operative position and in cooperation with said rolls, and means for rotating said rolls having a relatively movable handle adapted to enter said frame aperture when not in, use to prevent the rotation of said rolls.

In testimony whereof I have afiixed my signature.

MAURICE ALLAND. 

